The latest research carried out by the Federation of Master Builders has revealed that three quarters of construction SMEs have said that cowboy clients are having a negative impact on their business. Cowboy clients are thought to be clients who either delay or withhold payment without good reason or making
31 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal The Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry into the accessibility of buildings, public spaces, and homes. The House of Commons investigation is calling on written evidence that focuses on a number of issues including government policy on and
Skanska is planning to introduce robotic technology for the next phase of construction of the Battersea Power Station development. Having received a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK last summer to develop the robots, the contractor’s head of innovation, Sam Stacey, says that the technology will be ready to use on
The majority of UK construction industry workers are concerned about the effects of alcohol and drugs on the industry’s workforce, according to the results of the Considerate Construction Scheme’s (CCS) latest survey. In a bid to increase awareness of the effects of alcohol and drugs on the industry workforce, the
The UK’s move to set a target to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions now faces a challenge after the country’s decision to leave the European Union. Earlier in the week the UK agreed to set a legally binding aim of cutting the country’s carbon dioxide emissions to help
House prices in the North East have been boosted by the Brexit vote, having performed strongly in the build up to and aftermath of the referendum on the UK’s European Union membership. North East sales and lettings company KIS revealed their research findings that showed property prices in the region
Greenville Electrical has been appointed by Power Control to be the company’s key Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) representative in Northern Ireland. Greenville will now offer Power Control’s range of UPS systems to its customer base. The firm has now been trained across the complete product range of PCL which offers
All kinds of businesses in North Wales are being urged to seize the new HS2 contract that is set to be made available soon. Over 100 firms attended a supply chain roadshow which was organised alongside Construction Future Wales to discover how they will be able to bid for work
The latest research carried out by the Federation of Master Builders has revealed that three quarters of construction SMEs have said that cowboy clients are having a negative impact on their business. Cowboy clients are thought to be clients who either delay or withhold payment without good reason or making completely unreasonable demands on the company. The Federation of Master Builders, FMB has carried out UK-wide research into the impact of cowboy clients. The results of this research include that nearly three quarters of SMEs feel that cowboy clients are a serious problem for their business, with nearly a quarter of respondents saying that they have had to wait for more than four months for payment from a client or a large contractor. The FMB’s research has shown that less than a third of the SMEs involved in the research are always paid within the standard 30 days. This delay to payment and other cowboy behaviours has led to the construction companies having to delay payment to suppliers and having to borrow additional funds from a bank or another lender. 5% of SMEs said that cowboy clients led to the company having to withhold wages and salaries from staff, with 4% having to let staff go due to delays in payment. More damaging to the construction industry as a whole, 20% of SMEs have said that cowboy clients have stopped them having the confidence to grow their business, and 8% almost went out of business. There are a number of horror stories connected to cowboy builders that is having a negative impact on the reputation of the industry. However, the research generated by the FMB has shown that there is a flip side to these horror stories and can restrict smaller construction companies. Behaviours of cowboy clients include demanding the completion of works additional to the brief or with no extra payment. The most damaging actions is the withholding of payment on spurious grounds such as discovering made up faults.
31 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal The Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry into the accessibility of buildings, public spaces, and homes. The House of Commons investigation is calling on written evidence that focuses on a number of issues including government policy on and current provision of accessible properties (including commercial premises) and the effectiveness of UK legislation, policies and standards on accessibility in the built environment. It also asks for evidence that focuses on the design and management of the public realm and how well accessibility is taken into account in the design of a building. In a statement, the committee states the importance of looking into the accessibility of buildings. It said: “With an ageing population, it is likely that more and more of us will experience reduced mobility in our lifetime. There are also other needs to consider, such as mental health. In this inquiry we explore the extent to which those needs are considered and accommodated in our built environment, and ask whether more could be done to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of both new and existing properties and spaces.” Committee chair Maria Miller said: “This area raises some interesting questions, and there is a great deal of scope for innovation. For example: how can building information modelling and modern methods of construction, contribute to making environments more accessible and inclusive? How can we deliver greater accessibility and inclusivity alongside more age-friendly towns and cities, including liaison with the NHS? To what extent do shared space schemes in roads and highways cause barriers for disabled people and how can these be resolved? “We need to ensure that buildings and public spaces are as accessible and inclusive as possible, and that communities can fully engage with the process of decision-making that shapes the accessibility of the built environment.” Source link
Skanska is planning to introduce robotic technology for the next phase of construction of the Battersea Power Station development. Having received a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK last summer to develop the robots, the contractor’s head of innovation, Sam Stacey, says that the technology will be ready to use on the project in the space of nine months. Mr Stacey reaffirmed that Skanska is the preferred bidder for the second phase of the Battersea Power Station project and if appointed their advanced robot techniques will be ready to be used on the work for the scheme. He estimates that ‘utility cupboards’, which house M&E components for individual apartments, would be delivered 20 times quicker if they were to use robots rather than in-situ methods, adding that the company’s flying factories base in Slough had reduced cupboard construction times by 65%. In the first phase of the Battersea scheme, Skanska built 300 cupboards in situ because of constraints on the site, while 440 were built off site, which allowed them to compare the two construction methods. The cupboards manufactures offsite took 18 man hours to construct compared with 42 hours for the ones built on site. Furthermore, Stacey revealed that they were almost 50% cheaper including factory overheads and had 73% less defects. However, by using robots in factories, the company believes it can cut the amount of man hours that are required to build the cupboards to just two hours. Skanska is also looking for ways robotic technology can be used in other areas, which may soon start to appear on construction sites in the UK, while in Norway the company is working with high tech start up nLink (a mobile drilling robot firm) to develop robots that can be used to fix and drill soffits. Furthermore, the firm has been working in conjunction with ABB for the development of a robot that can set out rebar cages in Sweden.
The majority of UK construction industry workers are concerned about the effects of alcohol and drugs on the industry’s workforce, according to the results of the Considerate Construction Scheme’s (CCS) latest survey. In a bid to increase awareness of the effects of alcohol and drugs on the industry workforce, the CSS launched a new ‘Spotlight on…’ campaign which included conducting a survey of over 1,300 people who work in the industry which found that 59% have concerns on the issues. Conducted last month, the survey also discovered that 35% of industry workers have witnessed their colleagues working under the influence of alcohol or drugs, while a quarter believe that the consumption of alcohol or drugs has caused people to be tired in the workplace. 65% of respondents said that they have never been tested for any substances, while almost 40% think that their workplace should be tacking the issues in a better way. A number of contractors, industry clients and suppliers undertake regular and thorough measures to get to grips with the issue including random testing and a zero tolerance policy, as well as providing information on the effects of alcohol and drugs at work through toolbox talks, on-site posters and site inductions. Several scheme-registered contractors, including Mick George, Interserve and Ardmore Construction Ltd, have put forward case studies on the ways they tackle the issue, which are all available to view on the CCS Best Practice Hub. CCS Chief Executive, Edward Hardy, said that the maintenance of a safe workplace is of pivotal importance for all employers and is something that applies to both the workforce and the surrounding public who may also be affected. He added that the ‘Spotlight on…alcohol and drugs’ is essential reading for everyone and, given that almost 60% of survey respondents agree that it is a problem, it is clearly a pressing issue of concern.
The UK’s move to set a target to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions now faces a challenge after the country’s decision to leave the European Union. Earlier in the week the UK agreed to set a legally binding aim of cutting the country’s carbon dioxide emissions to help with the climate change prevention effort. However, a think tank led by Nigel Lawson, the former Tory Chancellor and strategy committee member of the Leave campaign, has dismissed the move as “unlawful”, which is indicative of the uncertainty triggered by the Brexit vote. The Global Warming Policy Foundation fronted by Lord Lawson said the government was wrong to make a fifth ‘carbon budget’ a legally binding agreement that would see the UK commit to reducing emissions by 57% by 2032 compared with the levels of 1990. The foundation said that the target was based on the false assumption that the country will still be in the EU in 2030. Furthermore, they said that it also assumed that the UK would stay part of the EU emissions trading scheme, the biggest carbon market in the world, and would be “covered by the terms of the EU Paris agreement.” Collectively, the EU has agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030 as part of December’s Paris agreement. In a statement the foundation explained that it believes the government has behaved unreasonably and should have delayed the approval of the budget as well as reassessing the potential impact of a vote to leave the European Union. They said that the government had “hastily rubber stamped” a budget that was only designed to work in one set of circumstances and as such it is “unlawful” and something that the incoming Prime Minister should review as a priority. The UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act means that the government must set a budget every five years for the amount of CO2 that is to be emitted.
House prices in the North East have been boosted by the Brexit vote, having performed strongly in the build up to and aftermath of the referendum on the UK’s European Union membership. North East sales and lettings company KIS revealed their research findings that showed property prices in the region increase by almost 5% over the last month, with the average home gaining almost £9,000 in value. The increase comes after the 0.4% increase in May and means that the region’s house prices are now positive over the course of the year, having previously fallen 4% in April and 3.1% in January. The price of the average house in the North East is now 6.5% higher than this time last year and is typically valued at around £165,039. In all of the 20 areas surveyed, house values increase, with rises ranging from 0.7% in Gateshead to 9% in Durham City. The strongest growth areas were found in Killingworth (7.2%), North Shields (7.5%) and Tynemouth (7.6%). The latter has been named as the best place to buy for the last month because of its capital appreciation of 12.5% year on year, which is the highest in the region. In the last year other strong performing areas are Houghton-le-Spring and North Shields (10.8% increase), while prices in Jarrow have decreased by 0.8% in the same time frame. On average, rents in the North East went up by £10 per calendar month to June’s figure of £580pcm, which is a 1.7% increase. Compared with March, rents in the North East are now almost £30 much expensive and have seen a year on year growth of 4%, a rise from last May’s £565 figure. As a result of the increasing property prices, average rental yields in the North East have fallen back by 0.1% to 4.3%, although this is still up 0.3% on levels recorded at the close of the last financial quarter.
Greenville Electrical has been appointed by Power Control to be the company’s key Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) representative in Northern Ireland. Greenville will now offer Power Control’s range of UPS systems to its customer base. The firm has now been trained across the complete product range of PCL which offers three phase solid state, modular and single phase UPS solutions. In order to support Greenville’s knowledge of the products, the firm will be supported fully by PCL’s maintenance and service teams and will be given 24 hour access to the organisation’s project support and technical departments. The two firms have already commissioned and supplied Borri Ingenio 50kVA and 100kVA UPS solutions. Simon Murray, the Business Development Manager at Greenville, commented that as suppliers of critical equipment, a lot of which forms the basis of electrical infrastructure, the company has been looking for a partner in power protection to complete the company’s portfolio. He added that PCL is a perfect fit in terms of helping the company achieve its aims as the company’s UPS technologies and expertise delver on resilience, efficiency and performance, which are highly desirable for the Irish market. Mr Murray also believed that PCL offers an unrivalled level of service support and technical advice, adding that he has been impressed with the professionalism and expertise shown by the whole PCL team from maintenance and engineering through to product sales. He concluded that his firm is very much looking forward to the new partnership and is confident about helping PCL become one of Northern Ireland’s major UPS authorities. He also reiterated the fact that the new alliance will see the fully trained Greenville Electrical firm be appointed as the main UPS representative for Power Control in Northern Ireland. The two companies will fully support each other 24 hours a day through their dedicated maintenance and service teams.
All kinds of businesses in North Wales are being urged to seize the new HS2 contract that is set to be made available soon. Over 100 firms attended a supply chain roadshow which was organised alongside Construction Future Wales to discover how they will be able to bid for work on the scheme, which is anticipated to make some of the highest value contracts in the history of the construction industry. Similar events in Newcastle, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Leicester and Liverpool have attracted almost 600 people so far where they have learnt about how they can take advantage of the HS2 opportunities that are worth billions of pounds. HS2 construction is set to commence next year and will cost nearly £60bn, with the project’s first phase from Birmingham to London set to be complete in the next 10 years. It is forecast that the second phase of the project, which will run all the way up to Crewe, will be complete by 2027, before phase three will see an extension to Leeds and Manchester which will be complete by 2033. The project is set to create about 25,000 construction jobs in total along with 20,000 apprenticeships. Recently, construction started on the two National College for High Speed Rail sites in Birmingham and Doncaster, South Yorkshire. When it opens in September next year, thousands of workers will attend the college to learn the essential skills that will enable them to build and run the high speed rail line, along with future infrastructure projects. Roadshows like the one held in North Wales last month are set to be staged in Coventry, London, Cambridge and Bristol where large, medium and small firms will be encouraged to learn as much as they can about the HS2 scheme. Robert Goodwill, UK Transport Minister, said that the government’s ground breaking HS2 project will provide a great opportunity for UK businesses, including those in Wales.
